Chose a seven day Rome to Athens cruise on Royal Princess for itinerary and dates plus we were expecting a step up from previous cruises on P&O and Royal Caribbean.
Booked own flights on budget airlines and had a full day in departure and arrival cities arranging our own hotels. Worked very well.
Embarkation and landing handled highly efficiently with no waiting at any stage.
Response from TaylorW, Social Team, Princess Cruises
Cabins above and below, no noise other than from adjoining balconies when door open. No vibration noted. Convenient for aft lifts to get direct to Horizon Court for breakfast! Standard layout for this type of ship, small shower cubicle with curtain. Dressing area with long wardrobe rail and plenty of hangers (regular hooks not those hotel style with sliding rings). Good size bed when used as double. Fridge not stocked so usable for your own choice of drinks. 7 drawers. Continental and US electric sockets. 2 chairs can make area a bit crowded. Balcony small with no room for 2 chairs to recline fully but fine outlook one deck above lifeboats.
This is a fabulous place with much to see in a very small radius. Hired a car for 40 Euros and were able to get to Budva and fjord coastline and still see Kotor town. All great and will definitely be back.
Early departure from here so just took the shuttle bus into Corfu town. A must is coffee in The Liston overlooking Spianada square. Also look for Casa Parlante a reconstruction of an 18th century mansion flat, the town home of an aristocratic family. The moving waxwork dummies are a bit naff but the lively explanation from our guide really made the visit excellent value for a modest price.
Port was Chania not Heraklion.
Locally provided shuttle into town excellent value at 1.70 Euros (compared to Princess charges) 20 minute ride, air conditioned but hard seats and some standing.
Late arrival so just explored town on foot. Very attractive but also very busy.
Athens was our departure port so we took a taxi into town and used hop on hop off bus. It was gay pride day for Athens so city centre (Syntagma Square) was very busy in the evening and road closures disrupted traffic. A great city which felt very alive.
Note that hop on hop off busses depart from cruise terminal but you change at the Acropolis to see the main sights. Gray Line offer significant discount if ticket booked 40 days in advance.